Guide to the Library: Resources and Collections

PRINTED BOOKS

There are more than 400,000 printed books in the SDU Scientific Library. To check the availability of the books, and to search the book's title/author, patrons may use Online Catalogue.

Step-by-step instructions for "How to search for printed books" are shown below:  

Step 1: Go to the Library website, find the General collection
Step 2: There are two ways to search. You may use the basic or advanced search.
Step 3: Type the title or author of the book, and click the button "search".
Step 4: You will get the list of searched books. The number of available copies in the Library will be shown on the right side.

Due to the transformation of the SDU Scientific Library, the specialists of the Cataloging and Acquisition Department made the transition from the Library and Bibliographic Classification (LBC) to the Library of Congress Classification (LCC) system and work is underway to fill the electronic catalogue. 

The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a serially based system of numbering cataloged records in the library.

The books in the SDU Scientific Library are arranged on shelves according to the LCC system. Each book in the library has a unique "Call number”, which is a combination of letters and numbers. A call number is like an address; it describes the exact location of the book and tells where to find the book on the shelves. This will also tell patrons information about the subject of the book. This number can be found on the spine of the book in the library catalog entries. 

Line 1: Defines a common subject class and a subclass [for example, P = Language and Literature; PE = English language] Line 2-3: Classification number - defines a narrower sub-topic within the specified class [for example, .S9 = Sublanguage] Line 4: Cutter number - represents the name of the author or the title of the work [for example: .L36 = Lancome Ella Freeman] Line 5: Year of publication [for example, 2018 is usually the year of publication of the book, but maybe the copyright date]    How to find books in the library?  1. Check the book for availability in the library online (go to the website library.sdu.edu.kz);  2. Type the title/author of the book in the "search box";  3. If your book is available, then you need to find the book on the shelves using the call number (for example, P120.S9.2018);  4. Use alphabetic maps on the shelves, to find your book.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is the technology used in library theft detection systems. The RFID system consists of two parts: a tag and a reader. Tags have personal codes, and thanks to them in the library system it is possible to distinguish printed publications from each other. Each chip has a built-in anti-theft function. The chips have rewritable memory, which is used to mark for permission or prohibition to take out books or records. The label should be covered with protective tape with a barcode. 

At the Library patrons may also find self-stations with which they can serve themselves (by issuing or returning a book) without the help of librarians. The main advantage of the station is that it saves time for library users, they do not need to wait in a queue.